Electronic device housing and method for manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A housing ( 10 ) used in portable electronic devices includes gripping portions ( 40 ) defined thereon, such gripping portions being bounded by grooving created in a surface of the housing. A method of manufacturing the housing is also provided, the method includes these steps: forming a housing; grinding the housing; polishing the housing; and forming the gripping portions on the housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to electronic device housings and methodsfor manufacturing the housings and, particularly, to a housing defininggripping portions thereon and a method of manufacturing the same.

2. Description of Related Art

Nowadays, portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops andpersonal digital assistants (PDA) are widely used. Metallic housings areoften used to protect and decorate these portable electronic devices.Generally, in a typical manufacturing process for the housings, paint issprayed onto the housings. The paint is used to decorate and protect thehousings.

However, the paint tends to have a low wear-resistance. When portableelectronic devices having metallic housings are used, the paint adheringon the housings is likely to be abraded onto/against other surfaces.Additionally, the surfaces of the housings tend to be very smoothbecause they are covered by paint, which makes them difficult to holdand thus easier to accidentally drop.

Therefore, a new device housing and a new method of manufacturing thehousing are desired in order to overcome the above-describedshortcomings.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a housing used in portable electronic devices includes asurface having being roughened or knurled to facilitate grippingthereof.

In another aspect, a method for manufacturing the housing includes thesesteps: forming a housing; polishing the housing; and forming a surfacehaving being roughened or knurled to facilitate gripping of the housing.

Other advantages and novel features will become more apparent from thefollowing detailed description when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present electronic device housing and the method ofmaking such can be better understood with reference to the followingdrawings. The components in the various drawings are not necessarilydrawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present electronic device housing andthe method of making such. Moreover, in the drawings, like referencenumerals designate corresponding parts throughout the diagrams.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the electronic device housing, inaccordance with a present embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method, in accordance with a presentembodiment, for manufacturing the housing shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating the step of engraving thehousing, according to the method shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIG. 1 shows an electronicdevice housing 10, in accordance with a present embodiment. The housing10 can quite advantageously be used in portable electronic devices, suchas mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, etc. The housing 10 isapproximately rectangular in shape and can be made of a metal such ascopper, iron, aluminum, titanium, or alloys including these metals, etc.The housing 10 includes gripping portions 40 (i.e., groove-boundedsections or knurled portions of surface protruding and/or recessing(depending on perspective) from their surroundings so as to facilitategripping) defined thereon (i.e., extending integrally from an outersurface (not labeled) thereof). The gripping portions 40 are usefullygroove-bounded sections formed by engraving, advantageously, two groupsof arcs. In the interest of production time and achieving the desiredfinal appearance and structure, each arc crosses with at least some ofthe arcs of another group, and all arcs of a same group are arranged tobe essentially equidistant from and parallel to any adjacent arc in thatgroup. Thus, most all of the gripping portions 40 of the presentembodiment are resultingly rhomboid-shaped (i.e., gripping portions 40at the exterior edges of the housing 10 may not necessarily be rhomboid,given that they could be bounded by less than four arc portions). It isalso to be understood that another pattern of grooves may be chosen toresult in gripping portions 40 having a shape other than rhomboid, andsuch non-rhomboid gripping sections 40 would still be within the scopeof the present electronic device housing. Further, the groovesassociated with the gripping portions 40 could, potentially, beessentially linear in appearance, and such grooves are considered to becontemplated by the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a method, in accordance with a presentembodiment, for manufacturing the housing 10 is provided. The methodincludes steps as follows.

Forming the housing 10: A precursor metal board (not shown in initialform) is punched or cut, for example, to form an essentially rectangularshape and then sides of the metal board are finished to form the housing10. A thickness of the housing 10 can, e.g., be approximately 0.6 mm,permitting ready machining thereof yet ensuring sufficient mechanicaldurability to act as the housing 10.

Grinding the housing 10 to remove protuberances and/or stains therefrom:A method for grinding the housing 10 can include placing the housing 10into a container (not shown) containing a plurality of ceramic balls,placing a cleaning agent into the container, and shaking the container(i.e., essentially ball-milling). In this way, the ceramic balls grindoff protuberances on the housing 10, and the cleanser gets rid of stainson the housing 10. It is, however, to be understood that such grindingcould be achieved by other known grinding means (e.g., rotary grinder;high-grit slurry spray) and be within the scope of the present method.Likewise, the cleanser could be applied before, during, and/or after theactual grinding and still be effective and within the present scope.

Polishing the housing 10: Usefully, a lubricant is spread on a rag wheel(not shown), the rag wheel is rotated rapidly, and the housing 10 ispolished by the rag wheel. In this way, the friction between the ragwheel and the housing 10 creates heat, thus eliminating small nicks onthe housing 10. After being polished, a roughness of the housing 10should be in an approximate range from 0.08-0.1 microns. Of course,other polishing procedures could, alternatively or additionally, beemployed and still be in line with the current method.

Washing the housing 10: The housing 10 can be washed using a degreaser,such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution, a surfactant, and/or anothercleaning agent. After the housing 10 is washed, any dust (includingparticles generated during grinding/polishing), cleanser, and/orlubricant remaining on the housing 10 can be removed, such as by rinsingand/or by air jet.

Engraving the housing 10 to form gripping portions 40 thereon: Thehousing 10 is held on a worktable (not shown). An engraving wheel 20 andan engraver 30 mounted on a peripheral portion of the engraving wheel 20are, beneficially, used to engrave the housing 10. The engraving wheel20 with the engraver 30 can rotate at a rate of about 2300 r/min, andthe housing 10 can be moved (e.g., via X, Y, and/or 0 directions) underthe engraver 30 to be engraved at the desired location(s). An engravingdepth achievable can, for example, be in a range of about 0.05˜0.2 mmand, preferably, is about 0.1 mm. It is, of course, to be understoodthat the use of another type of engraving mechanism (e.g., a laser, adiamond-embedded saw, etc.) could prove suitable for achieving theengraving step of the present method. Additionally, it is to beunderstood that the engraver 30 is advantageously configured forengraving a plurality of grooves in a single pass to both ensure grooveuniformity and minimize production time (i.e., beneficially allowing allgrooves in certain direction to be simultaneously formed). That said, itcould be useful in certain instances to use fewer engraving elements(including potentially just one) as part of a given engraver 30 topermit more customized engraving, if so desired.

The engraver 30 engraves the housing 10 along two distinct directions.In a first engraving, the rotating engraving wheel 20 moves along afirst diagonal 1. As such, the engraver 30 rotates and moves with theengraving wheel 20 to engrave a group/set of approximately equidistantand thereby parallel arcs on the housing 10. In a second engraving, therotating engraving wheel 20 moves along a second diagonal 11, with theengraver 30 rotating and moving with the engraving wheel 20 to therebyengrave another group of approximately equidistant arcs that cross thearcs formed in the first engraving on the housing 10. In this way,rhombic gripping portions 40 are formed on the housing 10. With respectto the first and second diagonals I and II, it is to be understood thatsuch diagonals could potentially be linear or essentially so, in nature(as opposed to arcuate) and still generate a desirable shape for thegripping portions 40.

Anodizing the housing 10: The engraved housing 10 is placed into ananodizing container (not shown) containing, beneficially, sulfuric acidsolution having a concentration of about 0.2 g/ml. The housing 10 isconnected to an anode and electrolyzed for about 30-40 minutes, thus anoxide film (not shown) having many holes is formed on the housing 10.The housing 10 is then placed into a dyeing container (not shown)containing dye (e.g., pigment/paint), and the dye is absorbed into theholes of the oxide film. In this way, the housing 10 is dyed to apredetermined color. Finally, the dyed housing 10 is placed into a resincontainer (not shown), containing resin particulates (for example,fluorin resin, epoxy resin or polyvinyl resin) suspended in liquid (forexample, water or ethanol). The resin particulates form a hardprotecting film (not shown) on the oxide film, giving the housing 10 ahigher wear-resistance and a higher degree of polish/shine. In this way,the housing 10 is protected, and the portable electronic devices usingthe housing 10 can be firmly held because of the gripping portions 40.

Understandably, the shape and depth of the gripping portions 40 can beadjusted via adjusting, e.g., the angle, rotation, and/or movement(e.g., speed) of the engraving wheel 20. For improving manufacturingefficiency, such engraving parameters can be automatically adjusted. Theengraver 30 can be made of diamond, ceramics (e.g., alumina, siliconcarbide, silicon nitride, etc.), metals/alloys, and/or cermets having ahigh level of hardness.

It is to be further understood that even though numerous characteristicsand advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in theforegoing description, together with details of structures and functionsof various embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changesmay be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, andarrangement of parts within the principles of the present invention tothe full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms inwhich the appended claims are expressed.

1. A portable electronic device housing comprising a surface and aplurality of gripping portions defined in the surface of the housing,such gripping portions being bounded by grooving created in the surfaceof the housing.
 2. The housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein thegripping portions protrude from their surroundings.
 3. The housing asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the gripping portions are rhomboid-shaped.4. The housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gripping portions areformed by two groups of arcs, wherein each arc in a respective group ofarcs crosses a plurality of arcs of the other of the two groups, and allarcs of a same group are arranged to be essentially equidistant from anyadjacent arc in a given same group.
 5. The housing as claimed in claim1, wherein the housing is made of a material comprised of at least oneof copper, iron, aluminum, and titanium.
 6. A method for manufacturing ahousing, comprising these steps: forming a housing; polishing thehousing; and forming gripping portions on the housing by employing anengraving step.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the housingis made of a material comprised of at least one of copper, iron,aluminum, and titanium.
 8. The method as claimed in claim 6, furthercomprising a step of washing the housing after the step of polishing thehousing.
 9. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the step offorming gripping portions on the housings includes performing a firstengraving procedure along a first direction and a second engravingprocedure along a second direction that crosses the first direction. 10.The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the housing is substantiallyrectangular, the first direction corresponds to a first diagonal of thehousing, and the second direction corresponds to a second diagonal ofthe housing.
 11. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising astep of anodizing the housing after forming gripping portions on thehousing.
 12. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising astep of dyeing the housing after the step of anodizing the housing. 13.The method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a step of forminga protecting film on the housing after the step of dyeing the housing.